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12 Sales Management Tips for 2012
Don’t become a “rainbird coach.” I had a neighbor who would wait until his lawn had turned brown, and only then turn on his rainbird water sprinkler. I see a lot of sales managers who act the same way: they wait until there’s a meltdown before coaching their people. Far better for a lawn—and a salesperson—to receive regular “sprinkling.”…
Is Product Training Hurting Sales?
Today’s training narrative sounds little like that of the last decade. Customer apathy and economically minded decision-makers asking ‘why do we need this?’ have forced the change. …
Why You Need a Sales Playbook
A growth-oriented 10-year old telecommunications company with 350 salespeople worldwide had achieved a successful start-up by targeting a market niche with a quality product at a lower price-point. But competitors then responded by lowering their prices, so the company’s salespeople were no longer able to sell based on a lower price.…
Optimizing Your Sales Training Investment
In October 2010, McKinsey & Company published an interesting white paper – Getting more from your training programs. The focus was on optimizing the results from the $100 billion that world-wide companies spend every year on performance skill training in areas ranging from performance management to sales techniques.…
Strategy Review Sessions – A Different Perspective
Crafting a sales strategy is a key to success – especially when selling into major accounts. While front-line sales managers agree, we often hear comments like, “I don’t have the time” and “My territory is spread out and I don’t see my people face-to-face”. …
Can the Past Predict the Future?
Sales training projects are still not achieving the predicted results and experts are still stumped. There is only one explanation left: the living dead are terrorizing sales training projects. …
Increasing Sales Through E-Learning
When most people think of online training, the first thing that often comes to mind is a static slideshow presentation with monotonous voiceover. Many also associate online training with human resources as a means to ensure safety in the workplace or keep up-to-date with essential job skills or processes. …
The Perils of NOT Training Sales Managers
Many companies invest heavily in sales rep training, but are disappointed when they see little impact. Ironically, the lack of results from sales training can often be traced to a lack of sales manager training. New skills or methods that reps pick up from sales training fall by the wayside because untrained sales managers often aren’t effective at holding salespeople …
Changing Sales Performance: Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect
Some sayings are right on the money; some are just plain misleading; and some are partial truths. When it comes to changing sales performance “practice makes perfect” is a partial truth. “Practice + feedback makes perfect” is more accurate. This small difference yields a huge dividend in sales training.…
The Learning Laser: How to Target Learning & Development for your Sales Organization with Pinpoint Accuracy
Is sales – and sales training, in particular – finally coming of age? There’s no doubt that learning & development (L&D) professionals, like the rest of business, currently face major challenges, and those engaged with the sales organization probably more than most.…
It Always Comes Down to Price — Or Does It? Winning a price negotiation war with a customer
I had a prospect once whose staff sold billboard space. I suspected that the amount of sales training his group needed would cost about $18,000. But when he asked me about price, I responded by asking him a few questions. First, what he thought the problem was and why he thought that problem was occurring. And second, what …
Are You Losing Sales Because You’re Selling Too Fast?
My profession is teaching people how to become more effective at sales and sales management. Recently, a regional VP of sales for a large financial institution asked me to evaluate his sales team, which sells investment advisory services to high-net-worth customers. He wanted me to be a “mystery shopper,” so at his request I met with one of his …
Running a Reverse: What to do if you’re not the first salesperson through the door
Suppose that a potential client calls you asking for information or requesting that you respond to an RFP. It could be that they are just starting on their purchasing journey (which is a good thing for you). Or perhaps they’ve already dealt with one or more of your competitors, already have a solution—and preferred vendor—in mind, and contacting you is …
Managing a Prima Donna in Business to Business Sales
Most sales managers I know have a love/hate relationship with the prima donnas on their sales teams. They love the star player’s passion and hard work. They hate the self-centered behaviors that demoralize or discourage the rest of the team.…
Slow Down Your Sales Process
Salespeople are under tremendous pressure these days to sell more and sell faster. Many sales managers harp on salespeople to close more deals, and push the customer along faster and faster. But what matters isn’t what we are doing in our sales process. It’s what the customer is doing in their buying process. …

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